I can’t speak for 1937 but I seem to recall that all my 1940s and my 1941 had standard 1/4-20 license plate bolts with the square nuts.

I hope you found your taillight. I had a look for mine but then remembered that I had sold the pair several years ago.

Thank you, Kevin. Manual transmissions aren’t that difficult but I wouldn’t want to work on an Ultramatic as it would take so much research to figure out all the updates done over time and make sure that they are all done. In this case, it wasn’t a rebuild anyway as I didn’t replace any bearings but I did replace all the seals and, of course, it has new gaskets throughout.

On this kind of transmission, can anyone tell me if the top cover and shift arms should be painted? What else is left unpainted?

It was quick work getting the overdrive assembly buttoned up with more time spent finding the proper bolt than doing the actual work! Between two transmissions, one would think that there would be plenty to choose from but that wasn’t the case as many were incorrect. In fact, one was even chromed under the grey paint!

All the bolts still need to be torqued and maybe the whole thing painted since there is now much bare metal. It’s even already rolled over on the stand to where the car itself is so I need to find a way to get the engine lift over there too to put the transmissions onto the transmission jack.

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The new seal arrived late today and I was ready for it with the housing already in the press and a piece of steel tubing to press it in by the edges. I forgot to clean the bolts and it was too late by then so I’ll install the housing in the morning.

Instead I managed to put away a few things and tidy up a bit after finally properly powering the receptacles at the right half of the shop which until today had been powered by way of a long extension cord from a left side receptacle.

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When the new rear seal arrives, should it be soaked in oil before installation and if so, for how long? I believe it is NOS rather than reproduction which means it has leather with cork as a secondary part of the seal but I’m not sure.

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Howard, I think you’re referring to modern vellum.

You can buy the oil pump gasket from Olson’s Gaskets in Washington State and they have excellent products from the full engine kit to individual gaskets and they are very fast too. They have far more than their online catalog shows. Whenever I need a special gasket they do not have, I make sure they get a pattern so save others trouble down the road.

Baby steps! The second shift arm and solenoid are now installed! As I mentioned, the arms are very tight but that’s better than sloppy as the old ones were. The rear seal is due to arrive tomorrow sometime if UPS keeps its schedule.

On the solenoid, the manual indicates the point during assembly at which to install it, then the next step shows it gone. Also it is shown off when the transmission is installed into the car.

On the governor, it appears that to replace one of the wires, it would mean removing one of the settings screws as the wire is under it. Any thoughts on that?

Apparently the area where the adjustment screws are was originally filled with some kind of hard sealer. What was it?

Also, did the governor originally have a boot over it or was it left open to the elements? Did it have a seal under it?

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When I got up this morning it was 2f out and, as I ran out of propane yesterday in the short bit of work I needed to do, I’ll need to go into town shortly to fetch some. It’s a balmy 19f now so definitely some heat is needed although when I went out there yesterday, it felt warm inside compared to outside. Point is, not sure what, if anything, I’ll get done today, especially as the power is also out at the moment and the propane heater won’t work without it. Even the house where I am staying is chilly as it hadn’t fully heated up before the power went out.